Freelancer Wiki Guide

Walkthrough: Mission 6

From your current position, use the waypoints to follow the lead on Quintaine. Juni has sent you on a search for Dexter Hovis in the Dublin system. Follow the waypoints to the Battleship Hood.

Dock with the Hood and speak to the bartender about Dexter Hovis—and you meet the man himself. Turns out Hovis is a friend of Quintaine's, but only talks to racers. Hovis has a hard time finding people who will race against him. He challenges you to a race, the first main objective for this mission. Win, and he'll provide information on Quintaine's whereabouts.

The race is a single round at cruise speed. You can consider upgrading your ship's thruster in the Hood's equipment shop, or attempt the race without spending the extra credits. (It's possible to win without upgrading.) It's an oval-shaped course through 22 gates. The final gate is the same as the first gate. You must fly through the gates in the proper direction. If you lose the race, you will be given a second chance. Cruise engines are a necessity to win against Hovis' ship. For the best possible start, punch your afterburners as soon the countdown finishes, and after a second or two immediately activate your ship's cruise engines (using the default shortcut key Ctrl-W). It's also very possible to win just by pressing Ctrl-W as soon as the race begins. Follow the waypoints through the course. Try to avoid bumping into Hovis (he will fail you if you bump him too much) and hug the rings on the track's inside to gain ground. Hovis makes a blunder near the end, providing an opportunity to pass. But Hovis doesn't like losing and orders his cronies to fire on your ship. The weapon platforms in the area will also open fire with guns and missiles, but unless you forgot to repair your ship on the Hood, these dangers won't pose any threat except to your nerves. (Don't return fire; just complete the race.) If you do lose the race, you'll have another chance.

Having defeated Dexter Hovis at his own game, it's time to collect your reward. Follow the waypoint back to the Hood. Dock with the battleship and speak with Hovis inside. Hovis claims that he took Quintaine to an abandoned mining station, Glorious. According to Hovis, Quintaine claimed he needed to disappear for a while. Hovis directs you toward an old trade lane near an asteroid field. You can't take the trade lane, however; it fell out of service a long time ago. Proceed to the waypoint (at the mouth of the old trade lane), and then locate Mining Station Glorious within the asteroid field.

Hovis, true to his word, has sent you to Quintaine. But as you approach the station, you find ships of the Rheinland Navy demanding that Quintaine be handed over to them. When they're denied, the Rheinlanders decide to destroy Station Glorious and Quintaine with it. You don't have the assistance of Juni for this battle, but Glorious sends out its own fighters to help defend the station. The Rheinlanders are using a gunship. You'll have a chance to replenish your ammunition supply on the station, so use all necessary armaments to eliminate the fighters and the gunship. Avoid flying into the Rheinland attack group wildly; their combined firepower is not to be trifled with. Instead, chew on the problem from the outskirts, picking a target that is not surrounded by other hostiles, and staying out of the thick of the battle. The gunship is fast and equipped with missile launchers, but can be taken down quickly from the rear.

Once you've eliminated all Rheinland attackers, dock with the mining station. You're greeted on the launch pad and led to Dr. Quintaine, who isn't entirely pleased to see you, even after the mention of Dr. Sinclair. But when you mention the artifact, Dr. Quintaine's attitude changes. He'll follow you to Leeds with his own escort.

Take time on the mining station to make your repairs. You should also equip your ship with upgraded weaponry (if possible) and replenish your ammunition and equipment supply. Proceed to the launch pad and return to space. Select Quintaine's transport and use cruise engines to rendezvous with his ship. A new waypoint is uploaded into your Neural Net. Select the new waypoint and proceed to the designated location.

The Rheinlanders, efficient as always, have set up an ambush near the waypoint. A naval gunship and a squad of fighters block your passage. Defend Quintaine! He must survive the battle, or the mission and the game end in failure. Quintaine's fragile transport is an easy target for the Rheinlanders. Listen for audio clues that reveal Quintaine's status. His escorts will report if the transport is under attack. If you hear the cue, switch targets and pull one of the Rheinland fighters off of Quintaine. Quintaine's escorts suggest tackling the gunship first. You should have a full supply of ammunition— don't hesitate to use it on the gunship. The faster you eliminate the ship, the sooner you can concentrate on the weaker fighters that surround Quintaine's transport. But the gunship is a lower priority than keeping Quintaine alive. Destroy all attackers to receive new orders.

Resume course to the Leeds jump hole. But the Rheinlander attackers aren't finished. Enemy ships jump in from Leeds and set an attack course for your small group of ships. Even though there's no gunship in the area, this battle can be difficult. The Rheinland fighters are aggressive in their assault and you likely expended much of your ammunition and equipment in the first round of the fight. As soon as the fighters appear on radar, target the closest one and launch a series of missiles to weaken or destroy it. Once again listen closely to Quintaine's escorts; if the transport is taking damage, cycle targets to one of the fighters harassing it, and engage.

After a successful defense of Quintaine's transport, dock with the jump hole to enter the Leeds system. Dock with the nearby trade lane (it's marked Edinburgh Jump Gate to Planet Leeds) and use the trade lane to approach Leeds. Quintaine meets the crew on Leeds. Sinclair asks why Quintaine retreated into seclusion. Quintaine claims things began to happen after he made the discovery; he had to leave because he was afraid Sinclair would become a target. While Quintaine is reexamining the alien artifact, two Rheinland officers enter Tobias's shop in search of the Xeno-archeologist. Tobias threatens the officers, and they leave—but one thing is certain… It's not safe on Leeds anymore.